patrick.net

I heard Boehner wanted to pull out but got overexcited and it was over before he could do anything.

APOCALYPSEFUCK is Comptroller says

FACE!

It's what's for dinner!

Face, the other white meat.

I don't want to cause alarm, but this is Google's logo for today.

Here's the coverage from CNN.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/oIdPPVkkHYs

So, how will the government shutdown impact you?

http://www.youtube.com/embed/O3ZOKDmorj0

pleease let it b 4eva

Completely corrupt assholes.

We should force them to line up so the citizens can take baseball bats to them.

Think office space but with politicians and the POS "job creators" filling in as the printer.

PockyClipsNow says

pleease let it b 4eva

But without government, who will put us into $14 trillion dollars of debt while feeling us up at airports?

Besides, the government may have to lay off all nonessential workers like clerks, pages, and Congress.

Fortunately, the government has a clear shutdown sequence. Unfortunately, we're all in the Matrix and the Matrix runs on Windows XP.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/mLHdeaNfbxY

APOCALYPSEFUCK is Comptroller says

Face can be prepared and enjoyed immediately.

When serving realtor or banker face, white wine or red?

Dan8267 says

I don't want to cause alarm, but this is Google's logo for today.

They've updated already:

I think they should change the logo to something more representative of Tea Party America.

On the bright side, this could spell the beginning of the end of the Republican Party

http://www.youtube.com/embed/KolXzdKwr8E

My only question is how Fox News is going to link the government shutdown to Benghazi. Let's see. The government shuts down during the administration of a black president. Morgan Freeman played a black president in Deep Impact. Morgan Freeman was in The Dark Knight Rises with Franz Strassmann, who also played a role in R.I.P.D. with Kevin Bacon. Kevin Bacon stared in Tremors which was a movie about giant worms eating people in a desert. Benghazi is a city in the desert. We did it! We connected the government shutdown to Benghazi!

Dan8267 says

My only question is how Fox News is going to link the government shutdown to Benghazi. Let's see....

You just made Glenn Beck cry, and wrote his next script, all at the same time.

ceeeeleebraaattion!

http://www.youtube.com/embed/LIcdxae7i7M

Clearly the problem here is Democrat obstructionism, and their unreasonable refusal to compromise.

Vicente says

Clearly the problem here is....

Your undated Mother Jones graphic doesn't link to a specific bill, but PBS Newshour interviewed a House Representative and a White House spokesman, so you can read or watch them explain their parties' positions.

Republicans-just when you think the democrats are the scum of the earth, they come screeching back to reclaim their title.

Do any of these bozos fight for limiting free trade, limiting globalization, fight against govt spying on all Americans, fight to find ways to improve the country and the majority of its citizens?? Nope, on those issues, they are all united and support the big corporations vs the people. But Obamacare-err Romneycare- lets shut down the gubmnt.

Barbecue and/or sweet and sour politician will be a very popular offering at the local Chinese buffet.

APOCALYPSEFUCK is Comptroller says

Once the government stops paying the troops

Who needs troops? That's what drones are for.

lostand confused says

Barbecue and/or sweet and sour politician will be a very popular offering at the local Chinese buffet.

I prefer General Tso's Politician.

I didn't even notice.

I guess this government is pretty useless, just spend money they don't have on nothing. It's good to shut them down so they can try to stick within the budget... how else are we going to get Clinton type of surplus if we don't cut the spending?

Vicente says

Clearly the problem here is Democrat obstructionism, and their unreasonable refusal to compromise.

Sounds good to me, it's not what Republicans get... it's what America gets... and it all sounds very good. Mother Jones is so far to the left, she is not realizing that all of those "Republican" bullet points are good.

FortWayne says

how else are we going to get Clinton type of surplus if we don't cut the spending?

By raising taxes

Vicente says

FortWayne says

how else are we going to get Clinton type of surplus if we don't cut the spending?

By raising taxes

I don't want my taxes raised, I already pay too much. I recon they should reduce their frivolous spending. Government treats government very well at expense to the taxpayers who are sucked bone dry these days.

freak80 says

APOCALYPSEFUCK is Comptroller says

Once the government stops paying the troops

Who needs troops? That's what drones are for.

The government has to pay pilots to fly the drones remotely. That is, unless the government wants to give full autonomy to the drones, and you know what that leads to...

http://www.youtube.com/embed/uhIpXPvq_n4

Well,
Looks like the GOP finally did it to themselves. All over the news this morning what was predicted to happen is actually happening: The GOP is taking the majority of the blame for this. Its like 1995 all over again.

FortWayne says

Sounds good to me, it's not what Republicans get... it's what America gets... and it all sounds very good.

All good? You have to be kidding? Some of these are terrible. Let's go over what each means.

1. Delay Obamacare implementation
I.e., endless fighting and playing chicken in Congress.
Bad

2. Keystone XL pipleline
Bad because the oil companies have demonstrated that they are completely incapable of not causing a major environmental disaster when moving massive amounts of oil, and they are completely incapable of cleaning up the mess they leave.

3. Tax reform commitment
To Republicans, that means less taxes for the wealthy and more for the poor and middle class. It also means more debt spending.

4. Medicare means testing
Translation: cut Medicare benefits by requiring people to be more desperate before they can use it.
Bad because this means more long term costs as people use emergency rooms rather than preventative care.

5. Medical liability reform
Bad because very few medical malpractice lawsuits are accepted, and of those few are won, and when they are won the awards are small. The whole idea that medical malpractice lawsuits are money makers is a myth.

At least 80 percent of medical malpractice lawsuits involve death or serious injury. A Harvard study has shown that a majority of medical negligence claims involve death, serious, or significant injury.

No more than one-half of one percent of malpractice payments resulted in an award of $1 million or more, and judge or jury awards account for only 5 percent of all medical malpractice dollars.

Medical liability reform is code for making the truly injured have no way to get compensation for gross negligence and would result in our hospitals making far more mistakes due to lack of liability.

6. Pension reforms for federal employees
Translation: Break employment agreements and screw over the workers by eliminating their pensions, which were legally part of their employment agreement. Now, this may very well be a good thing, but it's still screwing people out of their retirement accounts after they've already worked for decades. So, if Congress is going to do this, it should start with the pensions of senators, representatives, presidents, and their cabinets.

7. Changes to Dodd-Frank
What I find most ridiculous is that you think Republican's dismantlement of the Dodd-Frank Act could possibly be good. The Dodd-Frank Act doesn't go nearly far enough to prevent the type of systemic fraud that caused the Second Great Depression. We really should re-instate the Glass-Steagall Act.

8. Easing EPA rules
Translation: Allowing more pollution.

Pollution is the destruction of wealth. It is theft. It is bad, bad economics. Even if you don't give a damn about the environment and people's health, it makes no fiscal sense whatsoever to allow corporations to pollute for doing so results in a net decrease in real GDP. The entire free market system is based on the assumption that the costs of generating a product will not be shifted to the population at large. If that assumption is false, as it is when pollution happens, than the free market theory actually says that resources will be misallocated and wasted.

So if you actually believe in the free market or simply want the total GDP to be as high as possible, you should be 100% any kind of pollution.

9. Restrictions of regulations
Translation: Less laws governing corporate behavior.

Why don't we have restrictions of regulations on drug usage, personal behavior, compliance with police, and a million other issues? Why is it called "the law" when the law applies to individuals but called "regulations" when the law applies to corporations?

The fact is that corporations can do and commit far more harm than any individual person could ever possible do. The laws criminalizing behaviors that are harmful to people do not go nearly far enough. If they did, we would see a lot of bankers in jail for their role in causing the Second Great Depression.

Think about it this way. Let's say Bob wants to murder Joe. If Bob simply shoots Joe, Bob will go to jail. So Bob founds American Oil, Corp and uses the company to dump toxic waste near Joe's property. Joe dies of cancer as a result. In the eyes of the law, Bob is perfectly innocent. If you want to legally murder someone in America, all you need to do is properly use a corporation.

10. More oil drilling

The idea that America could possibly rely on oil or other fossil fuels is ridiculous. The more fossil fuels we dig up and use, the more dependent we get on fossil fuels and the greater the economic crash will be when those fuels run out. The free market solution is to let fossil fuel prices rise greatly before we run out of them, so that alternatives are more economical and we can avoid the crash.

Dan8267 says

Think about it this way. Let's say Bob wants to murder Joe. If Bob simply shoots Joe, Bob will go to jail. So Bob founds American Oil, Corp and uses the company to dump toxic waste near Joe's property. Joe dies of cancer as
a result. In the eyes of the law, Bob is perfectly innocent. If you want to legally murder someone in America, all you need to do is properly use a corporation.

But corporations ARE people, so corporations can go to jail. ;-)

Call it Crazy says

Is it party time yet??

Sure is. The Tea Party failed, which is reason enough to celebrate.

Wonderful news ! Goal is to reduce national debt by reducing spending. Public employee wages and benefits are bankrupting USA and MUST be cut by 5-10% every year for next five years to bring spending under control.

freak80 says

But corporations ARE people, so corporations can go to jail. ;-)

I'll believe corporations are people when Texas executes one.

EInvestor says

Public employee wages and benefits are bankrupting USA and MUST be cut by 5-10% every year for next five years to bring spending under control.

Yeah, cut public employer wages and benefits 25% in 5 years and let me know if the local pizzeria, the dry cleaner, and the bookstore are still open at that point.

You do realize that working and middle class people spend almost all their income, right?

thunderlips11 says

EInvestor
says

Public employee wages and benefits are bankrupting USA and MUST be cut by
5-10% every year for next five years to bring spending under control.

Yeah, cut public employer wages and benefits 25% in 5 years and let me know
if the local pizzeria, the dry cleaner, and the bookstore are still open at that
point.

You do realize that working and middle class people spend almost all their
income, right?

Let's see, the right bitches about welfare(SNAP and TANF) because the people that SUPPOSEDLY receive those don't contribute to society. Then when any government employee that works to recieve their income, it's too much and must be hacked away to nothing.
But any large corporation that recieves millions and billions of dollars in subsidies, tax credits or rebates, or direct government contracts, or mandates from the same government, THAT'S CAPITALISM!!!!!

Is there really any wonder that the right, with all their kooks and extremists are happy about shutting down the government considering their distorted and illogical view of reality?

EInvestor says

Public employee wages and benefits are bankrupting USA

No they're not. Low taxes are BKing us.

http://ctj.org/ctjreports/2013/04/the_us_continues_to_be_one_of_the_least_taxed_of_the_developed_countries.php

This is what this kabuki is about. Cut spending or raise taxes. Conservatives want to pick off such spending as they can, before the tax bills start to hit.

The backstory with "repeal and replace" is the 3.8% tax on incomes over $250,000 that the Democrats snuck into "ObamaCare".

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/CP

upisdown says

Is there really any wonder that the right, with all their kooks and extremists are happy about shutting down the government considering their distorted and illogical view of reality?

No.

They're an army of robots programmed daily by AM radio and Fox News. There's no independent or critical thinking going on.

And that doesn't include the insanity they hear from the pulpit every Sunday morning.

$3 trillion worth of wars, a defense budget as large as all others combined, bailouts for banks, and tax rates of 15% on hedge fund operators.

Conclusion: Public employee wages and benefits are bankrupting USA

LOL!

Please share some more nuggets from your favorite Fox panelists and Cal Thomas columns.

HydroCabron says

Conclusion: Public employee wages and benefits are bankrupting USA

It's always easier to pick on the weak than the strong. That's what the far-right does. Remember, it's all the fault of poor black people on welfare. War profiteers and corporate criminals are totally innocent.

HydroCabron says

$3 trillion worth of wars, a defense budget as large as all others combined, bailouts for banks,

The government shutdown will end abruptly as soon as military contracts are loss or the banks need another bailout. The Republicans will cave rather then letting their welfare queens go without government cheese.

Dan8267 says

The government shutdown will end abruptly as soon as military contracts are loss or the banks need another bailout. The Republicans will cave rather then letting their welfare queens go without government cheese.

Military, healthcare, etc... they are all considered essential and are not affected. They are only closing national parks really and some EPA/IRS stuff.

This really is just a gimmick, world isn't going to collapse.

FortWayne says

Military, healthcare, etc... they are all considered essential and are not affected. They are only closing national parks really and some EPA/IRS stuff.

Obamacare is not affect by the shutdown. Payments to soldiers is not affected by the shutdown.

However, while the shutdown persists, it is unlikely that we will see new military projects and contracts for new development with defense contractors. And those are the Republican welfare queens.

If this shutdown persists for months, Boeing isn't going to be able to sell new products until the shutdown ends. And that will impact Boeing's bottom line and all those cushy "private" -- and I use that term loosely -- jobs that suck at the government teat.